Page 117 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want

It demonstrated, in one hit, content, style and information, as
well as computer literacy skills from the diagrams and charts
integrated into the document. I could gather a large amount of
information from that one report very quickly. I didn’t sit there
reading the whole thing, but I scanned through it. I picked up his

writing style. I looked at some of the words he’d used.
For any job there are certain requirements, certain aspects
which you can demonstrate in an interview by bringing along a

document that proves how you handle them in practice. Within
the interview, showing the interviewer that document may
be only a two- or three-minute event, but I think in the overall
impression you leave it is important.

Mastering the art

Much of what I understand about presentation I learned from
one of my first bosses, Tom O’Dwyer. At the time I met Tom,
I thought that recruitment and interviewing was a process, like
filling out an expenses claim or an application form.
I joined Tom’s firm, a financial services company, as a recruit-

ment manager – Tom was one of the directors and owners.
When I arrived, the company was getting ready to move to
di≠erent premises, but was still waiting for the building work

to be done. They didn’t have an o≤ce or a desk for me to use, so
Tom said, ‘Why don’t you share my o≤ce?’ There I was, sharing
an o≤ce with the director and owner – quite an unbelievable
situation for someone in my position.

105 presentation